Category: forgiveness

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Don’t Let the Door Close

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3a

It was going to be close. It is something that happens more often than we think.  We are in a building…a tall building…the kind that has an elevator. We are in a hurry, and we look across the lobby and see the door is standing open…as if waiting for us. What a blessing, what a time saver.  We pick up our pace a bit and just a couple of yards from the door, it closes and begins its journey upward…without you. Does this ring a bell? Or maybe the scene is a city bus waiting at the stop and again you think, “What perfect timing” until you hear the airbrakes release and see the door close, and you are left behind in a cloud of stinky diesel exhaust. Yuk.

One of my favorite travel memories was when we were on a mission trip passing through London.  We hopped onto the tube (what British folks call their subway) and were sitting passively waiting for the car to move.  Suddenly, our team leader jumped up and indicated we were to follow him.  Just as he got to the door, it began to close, and he threw himself into the gap, blocking the door from closing. It turned out we were on the wrong train and his selfless action allowed us to jump off and get on the right train!

Sometimes closing doors are just an inconvenience…like elevators, busses, and subways but sometimes it can have a much larger, more dangerous consequence. I’ve long believed that whether it is about a relationship with Him or a change of course in our lives, God opens and closes doorways for us.  I’ve seen this happen in church.  People will wake up one day and decide to start going to church again. They get dressed, drive to wherever, and walk through the door. To their surprise they like what they find and hear and leave wondering why they ever left. They regularly attend for the next few weeks or months and then suddenly they don’t. What happened?

When people rediscover the reality of God, He usually calls them to some sort of decision. It might be a first-time relationship or a return home.  Even folks who regularly attend might find themselves drawn to a new and deeper relationship with their heavenly Father but here is the big truth. In both cases, if the person fails to act, often the door closes…the fire cools…the passion dissipates and suddenly and sadly, an opportunity is missed.

There is a verse tucked away in Genesis that says, “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man” and while the context is not perfect, the truth is. God calls all of us at one time or another, but He doesn’t call forever.  When you feel God talking to you, I hope you and I both will have the wisdom to respond. Whether to come home for the first time or for the hundredth time, when He is speaking, we should be listening…and responding. God is so patient with us, but He does expect us to respond and that is always a good idea.  You see, no matter what or why He is calling we can have the assurance that it is for our good and that means…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in fear, forgiveness, life, prayer, pride, priorities, Scripture, Trials

Pilate

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. John 18:37-38a

I am a fan of history but that doesn’t mean I know a lot.  I really do like to investigate things of the past. To me it is always fascinating to peer into the past and discover how things happened…or didn’t happen.  And, of course, there is the learning factor.  If we are wise, we can look back and learn. It has been said that those who don’t learn from the past are destined to repeat it. That can be a deal, or no deal but it can also be a tragedy.

I was reading a devotion from Pastor Greg Laurie recently.  He has a great ministry out in California, and he was writing about a guy we think a lot about—especially at this time of the year. His name—Pilate. He plays a minor major role in the Easter story.  He was the Roman leader that interrogated Jesus asking, “What is truth” and then washed his hands, figuratively and physically, of the whole Jesus affair.  In so doing, he condemned Jesus to the cross and by personally rejecting Jesus—he condemned himself to an eternity without God.

In the Roman world, men like Pilate, placed in power by a totally corrupt empire, thought themselves as gods.  They held absolute power and sway over people and their lives. Offend them and you probably would pay heavily for it. I can imagine Pilate that day somewhat drunk with power as he presided over the fate of Jesus. We can see he did wrestle with the decision but in the end, securing his continued power was all that mattered. He couldn’t risk making Rome mad, so he threw Jesus, so to speak, to the dogs.

I never considered what happened to Pilate, but Laurie sheds some light on the matter. He writes, “Pilate gave up everything for power and prestige. And how did it work out for him? According to history, he ultimately suffered banishment from high office to a place called Gaul. There, he was left broken and destitute, unwanted by Caesar, and all alone.”

But wait, there is more, much more. Laurie continues, “One night, under the cover of darkness, Pontius Pilate, the great Roman governor who could have received forgiveness from the Son of God, went out and hung himself. A workman found his body. His craving for popularity cost him everything. Had he chosen to, he could have believed in Jesus on the spot, and Jesus would have forgiven him.”

What an incredibly sad ending to a sad story. If there ever is a time when we need to learn from the past…it is here and it is now. If you are pondering the reality of Jesus and whether to follow Him or reject Him, if you are wondering if it is truly worth it or not, if you are weighing the price, remember Pilate. He indeed gave up everything for power and prestige. There is a song that asks, “What will you do with Jesus, neutral you cannot be. One day your heart will be asking, “What will He do with me, what will He do with me.” God is inviting you into His family. Worried you messed up too much?  You don’t need to. He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Easter, fear, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, heaven, Holidays, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

What Do You Hear?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Good Friday.  What an unusual name for such hard, hard day.  Imagine with me as slowly the light increased over Jerusalem.  It was another early morning in spring and men were going to die.  The Romans regularly crucified criminals–it was business as usual for them.  But this day, well this day, would be different.  Three men would die on crosses–two criminals and one perfect human being.  His name was Jesus.

As the light increased so did the sounds.  If you had been there, you would have heard the sounds of crowd–a mob really.  Some were crying, some shouting, some angry, some broken.  You would have heard the sounds of struggle–anguish as a man carried a cross too big for even the healthiest of men.  At the top of a stark hill the sounds intensified.

You could hear without trying the sound of metal on metal as hammer meets nail.  Cries of humanity suffering as three crosses are lifted skyward.  The message was clear.  You don’t mess with Rome.  Scattered around are the sounds of women crying and men in anguish.  Stares of disbelief filled the eyes of many.  Listen now–there are words.

The Man in the middle–the perfect one–is speaking and what He says is almost beyond belief. “Father, forgive them.  They don’t know what they are doing.”  Forgive them–the very ones who passed the judgement–who drove the nails–who lifted the cross. Wait, for there is more.  One of the criminals is mocking him but the other is begging him.  “Remember me,” he says.  And Jesus responds “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.”

There are more words.  Lean in-strain to hear. The Man in the middle–the perfect One–is asking His friend John to take care of His mother.  And then there is the cry of brokenness as He cries, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  He knows why.  The Man in the middle–the perfect One–has become sin and His Father can’t look on sin.  There’s a price being paid, and it involves wrath and death.  And He is willingly paying it.

As His end draws near a silence begins to fall over the hill.  The women are cried out, the soldiers are bored, and the crowd confused.  And then they all hear it.  “Tetelestai.” It’s a common word really.  It means finished.  An artist would say it when the last stroke is applied to a masterpiece.  A carpenter would say it when the last peg is driven in a newly built table. A farmer would say it when the last sheave of wheat is harvested.  But when the Man in the middle–the perfect One–says those words, everything changes.

“It is finished.”  The mission is accomplished. The price for sin has been paid and atoned for.  The wrath of God for sin is satisfied.  What justice demanded He has paid. And what He promised the criminal becomes a reality for any person. My sins, your sins, our sins, can be forgiven and you can be with Me in heaven.

So, then He dies.  Actually, He wills himself to die for no one could take the life of the Man in the middle–the perfect One.  He could give it, but they could not take it.  Rocks crack, thunder rolls and then in the distance a tearing, ripping sound is heard as the massive curtain separating man from Holy God is torn from top to bottom and God–God hangs out the welcome sign for the first time ever.  And it’s all because of the Man in the middle–the perfect One.

In any other story that would be the end, but you see it’s only Friday.  The final act is coming on Sunday. Friday ended with His followers discouraged, defeated and afraid. Maybe like some of us. But if you lean in again…if you listen closely…you can hear the Father saying, “Rest in Me. Wait till Sunday.  I’ve got this.”  And…He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, heaven, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Crosses

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Crosses. It seems everywhere you look you can see one. As my wife Judy and I were driving back from the Holy Land (aka the south), part out of boredom and part out of curiosity, I would slowly scan the landscape to see what I could see.  It was then that I saw them.  Poked in the ground were three wooden crosses.  They were weather faded and had shifted in the dirt…lazily leaning to one side and then the other.  When I saw them, I sighed, heavily because of what they meant.  At that spot, sometime in the not-too-distant past…three people had lost their lives.

I didn’t know if they were young or old, black, or white, rich or poor.  I didn’t need to know that because all that mattered was three people in a flash of a moment slipped into eternity, most likely with little or no warning. Those crosses and so many others I saw that day and other days always meant one thing—someone had died. Suddenly they were ushered into an eternity with or without God and that with or without was and is such a heavy thought. Eternity with God would mean eternal life and eternity without Him could only mean a forever separation in a place not made for man but for his enemy—Satan.

These words, these thoughts should weigh heavily on us for eternity without God is a grievous thing—a heart breaking thing. One thing is certain—it weighs heavy on the heart of God. I know this because of what happened a couple of thousand years ago on a rugged outcrop outside of Jerusalem.  There a man, a perfect man, the God man died so that no one had to be separated from God ever again.  His death made it possible for anyone and everyone to receive the gift of eternal life and forgiveness. Think about that whenever you see a cross…for it means Someone died and that Someone was Jesus.

So, if you wear a gold cross or one decorated with jewels or if you have one hung somewhere in your home never, never forget what it means…Someone died. Can I encourage you to go one step further—even if you don’t know God or believe in Him?  Can I encourage you to remember why people, lots of people wear a cross, or hang a cross? Well, whether they acknowledge it or not—they are making a statement about a God who loved the world so much that He sent His Son to this earth for one purpose—to die on a Roman cross. Not murdered, not martyred, He went there and died there because He loved you and me. That is simply amazing. And trust me…a God like that can handle anything including your toughest questions.  He’s got that.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Trust

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:23

It seems so easy…but it is just not. In the Disney movie Aladdin, the central figure named Aladdin (bet you saw that one coming) and the beautiful young princess are in a difficult situation.  Options are limited because the bad guys are just about to win the day–grab her and jail him.  He reaches out his hand, looks her in the eyes and says, “Do you trust me?”

Well, you’ve probably seen the movie a dozen times, but the bottom line is she does, they escape, and eventually live happily ever after.  But not before one more precarious situation, one more extended hand and one more time the all-important question asked, “Do you trust me?”  She does.  She extends her hand and well, you know.

Times like these times help us begin to understand just how difficult it might have been for these two fictitious characters.  To not trust meant certain disaster. To trust meant risk.  It’s a hard call–well especially in the movie because Aladdin wasn’t some dashing, super strong, super-hero but a “street rat,” a nobody, from the wrong side of town.

But what about us–what about our plot–our uncertainty.  Well, there is an extended hand and there is that all important question, “Do you trust me?”  But that’s where things change.  The hand extended to us doesn’t belong to a “street rat” but rather to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  It belongs to the One who speaks, and a billion stars begin to twinkle. And the one on the receiving end?  Oh, that would be us–the one He calls son, daughter, child of mine.

I love Psalm 37:24. Speaking of God and us, it says, “Though they [that would be us] stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” Never fall, never perish, never. Let that soak in.  The word picture is that of a person—perhaps a small child or maybe a frail senior adult—who has lost their footing and consequently is on their way down to certain pain and suffering.  Then, at the last minute, the hand reaches down and takes hold, and they are saved.

That has to be what caused the prophet Habakkuk 3:17-18 to say, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18.  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

It’s not a hard call really.  I mean He’s all powerful and loves us like no prince has ever loved his princess…cares for us more than any husband his bride.  He has a perfect track record. Never fails…no, not once. Regardless of how scary the days were or may become, He is bigger, He is stronger, and He can be trusted. So, listen carefully today. Tune out or turn down the volume of a screeching world and you will probably hear a soft whisper saying, “Do you trust me?”  And look with Spirit eyes and you might even see a hand extended.  You don’t even need to try and take hold for He’s got you and yes, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, food, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Food for Thought

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6

Sometimes the main thing gets lost.  I am one of those people that likes things with my things. You know, I like a few French fries with my ketchup.  I am fond of a little pie with my ice cream and of course I prefer a little lettuce with my bleu cheese dressing. Oh, and I like a little taco with my cheese too. Yup, I do like things with my things but there is one thing that I like just the way it is…and that is my coffee.

You see, I learned a long time ago that for me black coffee is the only way to drink it.  I like my coffee black, rich, and strong. It is hard to put my finger on it but there is just something about hot, black coffee that warms the soul.  I know a lot of people would beg to disagree.  They, like me with several of my food groups, prefer a little coffee with their sugar and or cream.  While sugar is generally sugar, the choices of creams are as varied as flowers in a garden. I know my wife Judy’s favorite is “Sweet Italian Cream” and with a name like that…who couldn’t, wouldn’t like it!

The problem, at least from my perspective, is that amid all that sugar and flavoring, the coffee gets lost. Often people find out they don’t really like coffee, they like all the stuff that goes in it.  You might say, the main thing just gets lost, and I guess if that works for you…that’s ok.  But now what about Jesus’ stuff?

When it comes to Jesus’ stuff, His teaching, and writings, it is a must that we keep the main thing the main thing.  We are great at doing a whole bunch of religious stuff and forgetting or ignoring the most important.  Paul wrote a few words about this in Galatians 5:6 the last part when he said, “What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” In other words, all those made-up rules and traditions pale when compared to the love of Christ.  Two things stand out—he was right, and it is true.

In the first part of that verse Paul says, “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised.” In other words, when we get Jesus, it is time for the religious fluff to fly and the Jesus stuff to stick and stick tight.  Well, anyway, how you do your coffee is all about personal preference but how we live out our relationship with Jesus, well, that is a different matter.  If you need some insight, might I suggest spending some time with the One that matters and in His Word.  He would be glad to meet with you.  You can always trust Him…He’s got this.

Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, friends, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful, Trials

It’s the Foundation

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45

Well, we missed this one.  You know sometimes what appears to be the problem just isn’t. Several years ago, we realized that one of our spare beds was looking a little worn out. So, we poked and prodded (not the mattress) the internet looking for that delicate balance between price and quality.  Well, we finally decided on one and soon it was at home with us.  There, all was well.  Rest well dear friends…rest well.

Imagine our surprise when several months down the road one of our guests said that they just simply did not rest well on that bed.  We were befuddled…we were confused and finally we just wrote it off to the fact that people can be fickle about the mattress they sleep on.  Surely, there is no place like home and often there is no bed like the one we sleep on night after night.

Fast forward a several months and strangely someone else said the mattress seemed a little worn out.  Well, we decided perhaps, just perhaps, we should replace the mattress.  Apparently, while we were fond of the mattress, some of our guests weren’t.  We did some more research and bought another mattress.  The other one went to our daughter’s house and well, at least they were happy.

You are not going to believe what happened next.  You guessed it, someone didn’t like our new mattress.  Well, I personally figured out that the impossible quest was to make someone happy with a mattress other than their own. Since research confirms that, oh, well, easy come, easy go. Well, a while later I was checking my “good deals for today” email and I found a queen bed with an upholstered headboard and sideboards. Also, it didn’t require a boxspring and the price was spot on.  I showed it to Judy, she agreed, and the deal was done.

Before long, it arrived by one of the delivery companies and we prepared to put it together. The first thing we had to do was take the other bed apart. We removed the mattress and then the boxspring.  When I picked up the boxspring I noticed that it was kinda bowed and then I noticed why.  The wood frame of the boxspring was broken in two. I showed it to Judy and we both realized something at the same time.  We hadn’t had a mattress problem…we had a boxspring…a foundation problem.

Sure enough, we put the bed together, put the mattress on it and then we tested our work.  We both instantly noticed an amazing difference. While only time will tell the end…I think our bed problem is solved.  Keep in mind the big truth. It wasn’t a mattress problem; it was a foundation problem.  True in beds…true in life.

You see, if you are having difficulties in your day by day walk around life, the problem may not be as obvious as you think. Maybe, just maybe, you have a foundation problem.  This is especially true in the moral and spiritual areas of our life.  Jesus said if you are too often shocked by what comes out of your mouth, you probably don’t have a mouth problem…you have a heart problem.  He said, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Boom…there you go!

So, if your mattress is uncomfortable…be sure and check your boxsprings.  And, if you find yourself often in deep weeds, it just might be a heart issue and the good news is our Heavenly Father specializes in heart issues.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, school days, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Rescue and Redemption

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” (Psalm 34:18)

Tears streamed down my face as I raced after the car.  So many childhood memories are lost through the fog of time.  Depending on the memory…that can be good or bad.  A tragedy, a broken heart, a traumatic event, are all best left in the fog.  Others, though, need to be remembered.  And then, there are those that are both and this story is one of those.

It all started one day in elementary school.  It had to be the third grade.  The teacher had given us an assignment and to emphasize the importance, she said that if we came to school the next day without it…there would be consequences.  I don’t know what those were, but it probably involved a trip to see the principal or being fed to the sharks.  At any rate, it worked.  I was terrified.

Well, somehow, some way, it happened.  I got on the bus, got to school, and got to class.  Shortly after we said the pledge to the flag, sang our patriotic song for the day and then recited the Lord’s Prayer (yes, we really did that), she called for the assignment. Just about then, the Lord’s Prayer took on a new meaning.  I was genuinely scared…to death.  Well, in a moment of grace, she allowed this repentant sinner to go to the office and call my Momma and Momma came to the rescue. We agreed that I would meet her in the circular drive…where the buses dropped us off each morning. Since it was going to be a few minutes, I went back to class.

A little later, the teacher let me go and meet Momma.  I got to the drive just in time to see the back of our car leaving the driveway.  Either I was later, or she was early—either way I was in deep trouble. So, I did what any insecure, deep weeds third grader did back in the early sixties—I burst into tears and started chasing the car.  As they drove off, I remember running as fast as I could, crying out, “Momma, Momma.” Somehow, some way the brake lights came on and the car pulled over.  It turned out my brother was driving, and Momma was in the front passenger seat.

When I got to the car, Momma opened the door and I fell into her waiting arms.  Now this may seem a little dramatic and traumatic to some of you but then you didn’t have Mrs. Wilson for a third-grade teacher. There was not a sermon about how I shouldn’t have forgotten the paper—though that would have been appropriate. There was not a chastening—though I deserved that too.  There was only compassion for a young boy who thought for sure his world was about to end.  There was only love.

Well, first it turned out, she had already dropped the assignment off at the office.  Second, right or wrong, I just couldn’t go back to class, and I asked if I could just go home—and she agreed.  Apparently at the moment it was the right thing to do. Honestly, I was a mess and embarrassed that I was a mess.  The story ends with another chance.  The office must have sent the assignment to Mrs. Wilson and the next morning when I got to class everything was ok.  She extended some grace and I believe I learned a lesson about rescue and redemption.  It was a lesson that I would see played out over the years for the rest of my life…not by a teacher or my Momma—but by my Dearest Daddy.

You see, God is in the rescue and redemption business. Did you know that?  He is always looking for a lost cause to redeem and rescue and that’s all of us since we all have messed up. And the amazing part, He never grows tired of it.  I think it must be His incredible love for us. When I decided to become a Jesus follower, I didn’t become perfect…no one does. I still managed to “forget my homework”…again and again.  But each time He was there with a bucket full of grace and love. That’s just what He does.  Oh, and I don’t ever have to chase after Him for He is always chasing me.

So, today, if your day or your life is going south like a fast freight train, just remember this.  There is a God, He does love you and He wants to redeem and rescue you.  He’s chasing you to do exactly that.  No matter what it is, just know and believe, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, friends, Grace, life, loving others, pride, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, Trials

Help!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.”  Romans 6:14

It’s just about to drive me nuts.  For as long as I can remember, I have had to deal with allergies.  From the days of running the woods in Northeast Florida as a kid to now, stuff in the air drives me bonkers.  I can well remember the days in my early twenties when the only weapon I had to fight the battle with was some nose spray.  And the crazy part of that is if you use it too often and too long, it makes matters worse.

In the earlier days, my main issue was the fall.  In the fall there is this crazy plant called ragweed and when it starts to bloom, I start to suffer.  We are talking about itchy eyes, clogged nasal passages, and a sneeze that sounds like a chihuahua chasing their tail wound way too tight.  Oh, and I don’t sneeze once—try six to eight times.  During the COVID mess it was a real issue because people thought I was coughing instead of sneezing, so they gave me the death stare and then ran.

About a zillion years ago, I discovered something called Flonase that changed my life.  It is a nasal steroid that tricks your nose and eyes into believing that there is nothing in the air.  It was a game changer and I have used it probably for 30 years or more.  Wow, it sure made fall easier.  I might still have some symptoms but at least it was tolerable. Well, about five years ago, something happened.  I started having the same symptoms in the spring too.  They weren’t as bad, and the Flonase kept everything in balance.  All that was true until this year.

As spring began to spring, my allergies started acting up, first in a little way and then in a big way.  Today they are acting in a “you’ve got to be kidding me” way.  So, when I started sounding like an overactive chihuahua I just started using my medicine.  For some reason, this spring, it didn’t work like before.  Now for the last couple of days, I have been sneezing and my eyes have been itching like crazy.  I tried the over-the-counter stuff, and we made a little progress but so far, well, we are still at war.

All of this is so crazy.  Some stuff from some plant is doing something to the lining of my sinuses causing them to go nuts and I end up in misery.  I mean, first, I did nothing to the stinking plants and second, what’s up with my hypersensitive sinuses.  Something that I can’t even see is making me miserable.  I know, I should think positive but when you want to take your eyeballs out so you can scratch them better, it is hard to be positive.  And then I know you aren’t supposed to put your fingers in your eyes, but it feels so good to scratch them.  Oh, my goodness.

You know, I wonder what if sin (you know the things that God says we shouldn’t do) was as irritating as whatever it is that is driving me nuts?  What if it bothered me to the point that I would do anything to stop?  I do believe my life would be better…I know my life would be better.  But the problem with sin is the fact we like it way too much.  For many of us, it’s like the satisfaction I feel when I scratch my eyes or sneeze for the eighth time.  It feels better…it feels good.  But mark this down.  There are consequences.

Sneeze eight times with your eyes closed while driving and you end up running a red light or running into a ditch.  Bummer.  Scratch your eyes too often and you end up with an eye infection or scratching something like whatever it is that makes your eyes work in the first place.  Regardless—you end up in a mess.  The best thing to do is what I finally did.  I went to see my eye doctor friend.  Fortunately, she confirmed it wasn’t some weird African eye disease.  She prescribed some medicine that will stop this infernal itching. It’s gonna take a few days but eventually with her help, I’ll win.  I knew if there was anything that could be done, she would know and she would help and she did. She is my doctor, but she is also my friend.

It is the same way with this sin thing.  We need to call the sin doctor and that would be Jesus.  He knows all about sin—how to beat it—how to subdue it, and how to avoid all those nasty consequences.  He died so that sin wouldn’t win, and He is more than willing to help us, if we ask.  His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin but He also gives us victory over the sneezing and itchy eyes part of sin—the day-to-day messiness of sin.  He gives us sin relief and I love that.

Paul, one of the main writers of the New Testament part of the Bible, says that sin (along with all its messy consequences) does not have to rule over us—because we are not under the “thou shalt not’s” but under grace—God’s unlimited and unmerited favor.  And because of that, sin doesn’t have free reign, you know, like too many sneezes and itchy eyes.  That sounds like good news to me.

Just know that if you hear something that sounds like an overactive chihuahua or see some guy with red eyes, don’t worry it is probably just me going nuts.  But remember, and this is the take-away, there is Someone who can handle your sin issues and that Someone is Jesus.  He loves you a lot—so much He died for you.  And whatever your issue is, you can take this to the bank, He’s got this, too.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, pride, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

The Stain Remains

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Matthew 5:29

Despite my best efforts…it happened.  This isn’t a story about one event…or two…or even three.  It is a story about a reoccurring thing in my life…and probably in yours.  So, imagine with me.  You are having dinner, and it is one of your favorites—spaghetti! You have on a favorite shirt or blouse, and it is one of your favorite colors.  So, something tells you that you should change shirts, but you don’t. Instead, you decide it is too much trouble, so you make a conscious decision to be careful and it works—till it doesn’t.

You are careful not to slurp the noodles, you are careful to lean over your plate but alas you look down and there, on your favorite shirt you see several freckles of reddish orange. The dreaded spaghetti sauce has somehow found its way not to your mouth but to your shirt. Bummer.  You jump from the table and immediately head to the kitchen sink and arm yourself with a damp dishcloth and some Dawn dishwashing soap. After all, everyone knows from the television commercials that Dawn can do anything…even save the life of a small duckling.

You carefully begin to rub the spots and slowly they get lighter and lighter—until they don’t. On no, despite your best efforts, your favorite shirt now has some permanent light reddish-orange freckles.  The sauce is gone but it has left a cotton-picking stain, and no amount of scrubbing or rubbing is going to change the outcome. No amount of regret for not changing the shirt before you started dinner is going to change this.  The stain remains.

And do you know what?  What is true about shirts and spaghetti is true about us and our lives.  You know what I mean—we are faced with a choice, and we choose poorly.  We say we are sorry, both to God and whoever else it impacts, but the stain remains.  We say something to someone, the kind of words that are better left unspoken, and we watch as the hurt spreads across their face. We apologize but they know, and you know that while forgiveness is granted, the stain will remain.

If we are wise, and let’s be honest, sometimes we are not, we would do well to think before we speak.  We would be wise enough to take whatever action necessary to avoid the whole mess—and the stain that will remain.  They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that is so, so true.  Jesus said, “So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Yeah, I know, drastic right?  But remember this is spoken by Someone who understood the seriousness of sin—who would later die on a cross to pay for yours…and mine.

So, the next time you are sitting down for a nice spaghetti dinner, remember this plate of Grits and change your shirt.  Oh, and the next time you are about to make a bad choice remember that the stain, the consequences, will remain.  The good news is if you still splatter the shirt of your life, His grace is gonna be sufficient.  He’s got this. 

Bro. Dewayne